Ben Zoma: Since he did not have length of days and was not ordained to be called, 'Rabbi,' they would call him according to his father's name. And so [too] Ben Azzai. And both of their names were Shimon.

"Who is the wise one": This is what it is saying: Who is wise, who is fitting to be lauded by his wisdom?

"He who learns from all men": And even though [that person that he learns from] is lesser than he. As since he is not concerned about his honor and learns from the lesser ones, [it shows] that his wisdom is for the sake of Heaven and not to boast and revel in.

"as it says, 'I have acquired understanding from all my teachers'": And the end of the verse is, "since your testimonies are my conversation" - which means to say, "I would learn Torah from all my teachers, and even from those that are lesser than I, and I would not be concerned about my honor; as all of my intentions were for Heaven alone." And so [too], "who is the mighty one," [means] who is fitting to be lauded by his might? "He who conquers his impulse."

"as it says, 'slowness to anger is better than a mighty person' (but it can also be read as, 'good is slowness to anger from might')": Thus is the explanation of the verse: Good is slowness to anger that comes from the angle of the might [involved in] conquering the impulse, and not from the angle of [having] a soft nature." And so [too, the rest of the verse, "and one who governs his passion than the conqueror of a city" which can also be read as, "and one who governs his passion from the conqueror of a city," is to be understood as "good] is the conquering of the spirit when it comes from the conqueror of a city; [meaning] from a king, when after he conquers a city and the people rebelling against him come to his hand, he governs his passions and does not kill them."

"Who is the rich one": who is fitting to be lauded by his riches? "He who is happy with his lot."

"Who is honored": Because [of the fact] that one who merits to have these three things that are mentioned above - which are wisdom, might and riches - is automatically honored in the eyes of God and man, even if the [people] do not [fully] honor him on their account; hence the teacher appended [the following] to this and said, "Someone who has these traits and is honored automatically, what can he do to be [properly] honored by others? He should honor others."

"'For, those who honor Me, I will honor'": And the matter is an a fortiori argument (kal ve'chomer): Just like the Holy One, blessed be He - who is the King of honor and everything that He created in His world, He created for His honor - honors those who honor Him; all the more so should flesh and blood [do so].

"'and those who despise Me will be held in little esteem'": We learn [from here] the humility of the Holy One, blessed be He: He did not say, "and those who despise Me I will curse," but rather "will be held in little esteem" - automatically. And with the honor of the righteous ones He was more exacting, as it says (Genesis 12), "and those that curse you, I will malign."

"Since one commandment leads to another commandment": That is the way of the world, that one who does one commandment finds it easier to do others; and one who starts to do sins will find it difficult to separate from them. And also, "since the reward for a commandment is [another] commandment;" [meaning it] is from the Heavens that the one who does one commandment is helped and another commandment is placed in front of him to [also] do, in order to give him the reward for both of them. And so too, "the reward of a sin, etc." Another explanation: "since the reward for a commandment is [another] commandment;" Since all that a person is rewarded and derives enjoyment while doing a commandment is itself considered a commandment for him. And [so] he gets reward for the commandment that he did and for the enjoyment and benefit that he experienced in doing it.

"and the reward for one sin is another sin": And the reward and benefit that one derives from doing a sin is considered like a sin itself for him. And [so] he is [punished] for the sin that he committed and for the reward and benefit that he received by doing it.

"Do not disparage anyone": by saying, "What can x do to harm me."

"and do not shun any thing": [One should] make distance from anything that one should be concerned about. [And] do not say, "It will stay far and there is no reason to worry about it."

"Be very, very humble in spirit": Even though the middle path is praiseworthy with other character traits, it is not like this concerning the trait of pride. Rather one should lean to the other extreme of lowliness of spirit - as pride is extremely disgusting. And also since most people stumble in it and people do not separate themselves from it, therefore one has to make an extra distancing.

"One who studies Torah in order to teach will be given the opportunity both to study and to teach": is the textual variant that we have. And this is its explanation: one who studies in order to always be involved in Torah study and does not have in mind to do kindness with the creations - like Rabbah (Rosh Hashanah 18a), who was involved in Torah study and was not involved with doing kindness - even though he needs to be involved in doing kindness, nonetheless he is afforded [the time] to teach and to learn and [so] his plan will be fulfilled. "But the one who studies in order to observe" who wants to be involved in Torah study and to also be doing kindness - like Abbaye (Ibid.) who was involved in Torah study and in doing kindness - is afforded [the time] to fulfill his plan and he will merit "to study, to teach, to observe, and to practice." And there are some commentaries that [understand], "One who studies in order to teach," [to mean] in order to be called Rabbi, and they have the textual variant, "he is not given the opportunity to study and teach." But in most books, I have found the first variant, and it is the main one.

"Do not make [the Torah] into a crown with which to aggrandize yourself": such that you should not say, "I will study so that I will be called, 'my Rabbi' and they will have me placed at the head," but rather learn out of love and in the end the honor will come.

"and don't use it as a spade with which to dig": And do not study Torah in order to make from it a craft from which to earn a living, like a spade to dig with. As one that does this misappropriates the sanctity of the Torah and is liable for the death penalty from the Heavens, like one who derives [tangible] benefit form holy things (hekdesh). And teachers of small children receive payment for watching the children so that they will not err and cause damage; and payment for breaking up the cantillation, as a [Torah] teacher is not responsible to exert himself and to teach the students the breaking up of cantillation. But payment for teaching is forbidden to take, as it is written, (Deuteronomy 4:14), "And I did the Lord command at that time to teach you the statutes and the judgments, like the Lord, my God commanded me" - just like I [was taught] for free, so too are you [to be taught] for free. And so [too] is a judge forbidden to take payment for his legal decisions, but rather only for [not doing something else at that time] - [for] something that it is clear how much he would lose from the cessation of his work in order to hear the claims of the litigants, and [this is] only if he takes from both of them equally. But if he takes more than this, his decisions are nullified. And that which the Torah permitted the Torah scholar to derive [tangible] benefit from the words of Torah is that he may sell his merchandise in the marketplace before any [other] man, and also that he should be exempt from all taxes, yokes and property assessments. And the public is obligated to even give the poll tax for him. And even if he is wealthy and has much money, he is able to legally request that they exempt him. And if a Torah scholar is sick and suffering from afflictions and people bring many large portions for him on account of the honor of the Torah, he is [obligated] to accept, since it is impossible for him to earn a livelihood in another way. And so [too] a Torah scholar who the [community] appoints upon itself [as an] officer or the head of the group and he involves himself in the needs of the [community], it is permissible for him to take a reward from them; and even much more payment then he needs for his livelihood, so that his foods should be healthy. And through this, he will be great and feared and awesome in their eyes, as we find with the high priest, about whom it is written, "high (great) from his brothers" - and the sages expounded (Yoma 18a), "They should make him great from his brothers, such that his brothers, the priests, should make him wealthy from their [assets]. And the early sages who would abstain from this [were doing so out of piety] but not according to the [letter of the] law.

"Anyone who honors the Torah": There is no greater honor of the Torah than the one who expounds on all the missing letters and extra letters in the Torah, and gives a reason for each and every embellishment on [its letters]; to say that there is nothing purposeless in it. And also (another explanation) is, the one who honors a Torah scroll and honors those that study the Torah and those occupied with it - all of these are included in "one who honors the Torah."

"One who withholds himself from judging": in a place that there is someone greater than he. And also (another explanation is) [that] he tells the litigants that they should compromise.

"removes from himself enmity": Since one who leaves a court guilty hates the judge, as he says in his heart, "He did not [properly] look for my innocence."

"theft": Lest he declared the innocent guilty, and it comes out that theft came about through him.

"and a false (literally, vain) oath": Lest he obligate someone who is not obligated to take an oath [to do so, such] that it comes out that he brings him to a vain oath. And also (another explanation is) that the teacher [of the mishnah] is calling a false oath, a vain oath; for example, one who says, "I did not borrow," and he borrowed, as at the time of the oath, it came out of his mouth in vain.

"One who is nonchalant:" without research and without deliberation.

"Don't be a lone judge": Even though an expert may judge alone, it is from the way of piety that even an expert should not judge alone. [And that is] only when the litigants have not accepted him upon themselves as a judge; but if they accepted him upon themselves, he can judge alone even in the way of piety.

"for there is no lone judge aside from the One [God]": The Holy One, blessed be He, who is alone (unique) in His world.

"And don't say": to your colleagues that disagree with him, "Accept my opinion, since I am an expert and I could have judged without your association."

"for they are permitted and not you": Given that you have joined them to you, it is fitting that he should decide according to the majority.

"One who implements the Torah in poverty": who is pressed for food and abstains from his work to be involved in Torah [studies].

"One that disregards the Torah in wealth": Due to abundance of his [assets], he needs to put his attention sometimes to this, sometimes to that, and [so] has no free time to be involved in Torah [studies].

"Minimize business": Minimize occupation with your merchandise and your craft, and let your main occupation be in Torah [study].

"Be humble of spirit before everyone": to learn even from someone lesser than you in wisdom.

"many reasons for neglecting it (batelim) will be presented to you": that will assist to have you neglect it. Another explanation [which understands the word, batelim, as idle ones]: There are several idle ones in the world, which are the evildoers and bad animals which are idle ones; and through them, the Holy One, blessed be He, will bring punishments to you.

"And if you labor in Torah": He, Himself will pay your reward, and not through an agent. And in this, the measure of good is greater than the measure of punishment.

"Defender": A good interceding angel.

"prosecutor (katigor)": A bad interceder. And the expression katigor is [from] koreh tagar (one who calls out complaints). And the explanation of sanigor, which is the opposite of katigor, is soneh tagar (one who hates complaints).

"Let the honor of your student be dear to you as your own": As so do we find with Moshe, who said to Yehoshua, his student (Exodus 17:9), "choose for us men" - he made him equal to him.

"and the honor of your fellow like the reverence of your teacher": As Aharon said to Moshe (Numbers 12:11), "my apologies to my master" - his brother was older than him in years and he [still] called him, "my master."

"and the reverence of your teacher like the reverence of Heaven": As it is written (Numbers 11:28), "my master Moshe, destroy them" - destroy them from the world. [He meant by this to say,] "Since they rebelled against you, it is as if they rebelled against the Holy One, blessed be He and they are liable for destruction."

"Be careful in study": such that your study should be exact and according to the law.

"for an error in study is considered an intentional transgression": If you err in a legal decision from your not being exact in your study, and you come to permit the forbidden; the Holy One, blessed be He, considers it for you as if you had done it intentionally.

"There are three crowns:" that are written in the Torah, that the Torah obligates to treat with honor.

"the crown of Torah": About it is written (Leviticus 19:32), "and you shall respect the face of the elder (zaken)" - the one who has acquired wisdom (the first letters of these words, zeh [she]kanah chochmah, spell out zaken).

"the crown of priesthood": About it is written (Leviticus 21:8), "And you shall sanctify him" - he shall be holy to you.

"and the crown of the monarchy": About it is written (Deuteronomy 17:15), "Surely place upon yourself a king" - that his fear should be upon you.

"but the crown of a good name": Whoever has in his hand good deeds and a good reputation because of his deeds - we have not found a crown for him in the Torah such that one is obligated to honor [its bearer]. But it rides on top of them all, as all three of the crowns require it. Since if he is a Torah scholar and his reputation is hateful, it is permissible to disgrace him. And if he is the high priest, we say in Yoma 71b, "Let the children of the nations come in peace who are doing the deeds of Aharon and let not the sons of Aharon come in peace who are not doing the acts of Aharon. And if he is a king, it is written (Exodus 22:27), "and a prince among your people you shall not curse" - when he does the actions of your people.

"Exile yourself to a place of Torah": if there are no Torah scholars in your place.

"and do not say that it will follow after you": Torah scholars will come here.

"that your colleagues will make it yours": And do not rely upon your colleagues when they return from the house of the teacher that they will make it yours, such that you will learn from them what they learned from the teacher. But rather, exile yourself - you yourself - to the place of the teacher, since learning from the mouth of the student is not the same as learning from the mouth of the teacher. Another explanation: "as your colleagues will make it yours" - Why do I say to you, "Exile yourself to a place of Torah?" Because "your colleagues will make it yours;" as even if you are sharp and extremely analytical, the Torah will only be yours through your colleagues with whom you give and take. And that is [the reason] that it ends, "Do not rely on your understanding."

"We do not have in our hands": Like (Yevamot 105a), "it was not in his hand;" meaning to say this matter is not known to us, why the way of the wicked is successful and for what reason the righteous are suffering with afflictions. Another explanation: During the time of the exile, we do not have any of the tranquility and quiet that the Holy One, blessed be He, is accustomed to give to the wicked in order to drive them out of the world to come; and not even any of the afflictions that are designated for the righteous, which are the 'afflictions of love,' which do not entail the squandering of Torah [study]. This is to say, we have left the category of the wicked, as we do not have the tranquility that the wicked have; but we have not reached the category of the righteous, as our afflictions are not ['afflictions] of love,' like the afflictions of the righteous.

"Be the first to greet every person": and even to a gentile in the marketplace.

"and be a tail to lions": [meaning] to those greater than you.

"and do not be a head to foxes": [meaning] to those lesser than you.

"Hallway (prozdor)": A gatehouse. The [Aramaic] translation of chamber is prozdora.

"drawing room": The place where the king sits. So [too], you should fix yourself in this world so that you will merit the world to come.

"Better is one hour of repentance": [meaning] for the sake of repentance and good deeds.

"than all the time in the world to come": Because at that time, repentance and good deeds do not benefit a person, as the world to come is only for the receiving of reward for that which he observed in this world.

"Do not try to assuage the anger of your friend at the time of his anger": As it is written (Exodus 33:14), "My presence (literally, face) will go and I will give you to rest" - said the Holy One, blessed be He, to Moshe, "Wait until My face of anger passes" (Berakhot 7a).

"do not console him at the time when his deceased lies before him": As at the time of the [Temple's] destruction - as if it were possible - the Holy One, blessed be He, was mourning. [When] the ministering angels tried to console Him, the holy spirit answered them, "Do not rush to console Me."

"do not question him at the time of his vow": to find an opening (loophole) to annul his vow. Because then, on each and every opening that you find for him, he will say, "I made the vow with that in mind [meaning that he wanted the vow to be operative in spite of the loophole]" - and then you will no longer be able to find him an opening. And we have found that when the Holy One, blessed be He, swore to Moshe that he should not enter the Land, he did not plead immediately, but rather waited and afterwards began to plead.

"at the time of his humiliation": when he is humiliated by sin, as he is embarrassed from everyone. And so [too] do you find that when Adam sinned, the Holy One, blessed be He, did not reveal Himself to them until they made loincloths, as it is written (Genesis 3:7), "and they made for themselves loincloths," and afterwards, "and they heard the voice of the Lord God."

"'When your enemy falls, do not be happy'": It is a verse in Proverbs, but Shmuel the Younger was accustomed to rebuking people with this attribute.

"'Lest God see and it be bad in His eyes'": that you have made Him in your heart as if He is your agent to fulfill your desire.

"'and He turn from him [the enemy] His anger'": Since it did not write, "and He return (veshav) but rather, and He turn (veheshiv), it is implied that He removes it from your enemy and turns it upon you.

"On new parchment": [upon which the writing] lasts. So [too], the memorized teaching of youth is not forgotten.

"unripe grapes": which have not completely ripened and [so] set the teeth on edge. So [too], the wisdom of the child is not completely ripened and [so] his words are not accepted and don't sit well with the heart.

"wine from its press": in which sediment is mixed in. So [too], the wisdom of the child has a mixture of questions in it.

Rebbi says, "Do not look at the jug": Rebbi disagrees with Rabbi Yose bar Yehuda and said that just like there is a new jug full of old wine, so [too] there is a child whose reasoning is like the reasoning of the elders and there are elders who are lower in their level of wisdom than children.

"And lust": One who wants to fill his lust by eating and drinking and sexual intercourse and similar things.

"and honor": That people should honor him.

"Those that are born will die": Whoever is already born, he will die in the future.

"and those that are dead": will live [again] in the future and stand [trial] at the day of judgement, these to [receive] eternal life and those to [receive] disgrace and eternal shame.

"and the living to judge": They are standing to be judged on the day of judgement.

"[It is necessary] to know": from others.

"to make known": to others.

"and to become conscious": to understand on his own.

"He is the Maker": As the whole world is in His hand like clay in the hand of the [craftsman]. And what is the reason? Because "He is the Creator" that created the whole world ex nihilo. Therefore He can do with it according to His will.

"He is the Understander, He is the Judge": Since he understands all of their deeds, He brings them to judgment in front of Him.

"He is the Litigant": as he prosecutes the sinners.

"and He is destined to judge:" in the world to come.

"no respect of persons, no taking of bribes": as he does not have respect of persons, even for the completely righteous; that he should not punish him for the light sin that came to his hand. And he does not take the bribe of [the fulfillment of] a commandment for the sin, but rather gives the reward for the commandment and the punishment for the sin. So explained Rambam.

"And know that everything is according to the reckoning": All the small amounts join together to a large sum. So when light sins are numerous, they add up to a large sum.

"because against your will you were created": As the soul does not want to exit from [behind] the curtain - the holy place where the souls repose - and to enter the innards of a woman in an impure place. And an angel comes and brings it out against its will and places it in the innards of the woman.

"and against your will you were born": At the time of birth, [the baby] does not want to go out and the angel brings it out against its will.

"and against your will you live": There is [the case of] a man who is suffering with afflictions and wants to die but cannot.